Federer falls in Wimbledon quarterfinals
Tennis: Roger Federer covered his face with both hands, no doubt wishing he were doing anything at that moment other than dissecting his latest earlier-than-expected Grand Slam exit – this one at Wimbledon.
After all the victories, all the championships, all the records, Federer now must deal with a new streak: The owner of 16 major titles has lost two consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals in the span of a month, both against opponents who have yet to win a single such trophy.
Federer arrived at the All England Club aiming to reach the final for the eighth year in a row and win a record-tying seventh title. Instead, he leaves before the semifinals, beaten 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Wednesday by No. 12 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.
On June 1, Federer lost in the French Open quarterfinals as the defending champion there, too, putting an end to his unprecedented 23 consecutive appearances in major semifinals.
“God, I can’t wait for Paris and Wimbledon to come around next year again, that’s for sure, because they’ve been frustrating tournaments for me, even though it wasn’t too bad. Quarters is a decent result,” Federer said.
If Berdych is going to reach his first major final, he’ll need to eliminate No. 3 Novak Djokovic on Friday.
Djokovic advanced with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over 82nd- ranked Yen-hsun Lu of Taiwan.
Also Friday, second-seeded Rafael Nadal will meet No. 4 Andy Murray.
Rivers will return
to coach Celtics
NBA: Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers will return for another season, staying with the team he led to the NBA finals twice in three years for a run at another championship.
Rivers’ decision does not mean that the nucleus of the Celtics team that won the franchise’s record 17th NBA title in 2008 will be back for a run in 2010-11. Paul Pierce has reportedly said he will opt out of his contract and become a free agent, and Ray Allen also becomes a free agent today.
•Stoudemire opts out: Amare Stoudemire has opted out of the final year of his contract with the Phoenix Suns to become part of an illustrious list of free agents this season.
Stoudemire made the move after talks with Suns owner Robert Sarver failed to result in a contract extension.
•Nowitzki flies to Dallas: Dirk Nowitzki saved the Dallas Mavericks a trip to Germany, a sign they could be a step closer to keeping their biggest prize in free agency.
Mavericks president Donnie Nelson said he was moments away from boarding a plane for Germany when the former MVP’s adviser called to say they were flying to Dallas.
Vick reportedly left before shooting
NFL: The spokesman for the Virginia Beach, Va., nightclub where Michael Vick held his birthday bash says the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback left in a car minutes before a shooting outside, contradicting a timeline by Vick’s attorney.
Larry Woodward, Vick’s attorney, told the AP on Tuesday that his client left the club at least 10 minutes, and perhaps as many as 20, before the shooting.
Allen Fabijan, spokesman for Guadalajara Mexican restaurant and nightclub, says a surveillance camera video shows a car with a man he says is Vick inside leaving at 2:07 a.m. – about 4 minutes before the shooting a block away.
Police say Vick is not a suspect in the shooting.
USA, Japan on top
in softball tourney
Softball: Jennie Finch hit a grand slam to lead the defending world champion United States to a 16-1 win over Canada to remain unbeaten in the world softball champion- ships in Caracas, Venezuela.
Japan beat Venezuela 2-0 to also remain undefeated.
American rowers win opening-day races
Miscellany: The University of Washington won the Temple Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta, defeating England’s University of Warwick by three lengths on the opening day of the regatta on the river Thames in Henley, England.
•Marta’s team wins: Marta scored three goals and Christine Sinclair added one to help her team beat Abby Wambach’s team in the Women’s Professional Soccer All-Star game at Kennesaw, Ga. The two squads bore the names of team captains Marta, a Brazilian scoring star who plays for FC Gold Pride of the Bay Area, and Washington Nationals forward Abby Wambach.
•Blackhawks, Maple Leafs trade: The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forward Kris Versteeg from the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a five-player deal.
The Maple Leafs gave up forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis in the deal.
Toronto also gets the rights to left-winger Bill Sweatt.